Now we don’t have any sensitivities around wheat and gluten, but we do have a number of people in our lives with gluten sensitivies/allergies. Plus, I’m always up for trying new types of bread, so when I came across this recipe online, I could not resist! The process is very quick and easy–you just have to remember to soak the rice for about an hour beforehand.

Apparently, the recipe originated with Chez.Jorge on Instagram . I also watched this longer video by ChefSteps, and according to the chef in that video, you can make this bread with a variety of grains/legumes (quinoa, oats, lentils, etc.), so we may see a series of experiments here in the coming days!

I also like this recipe because if we happen to be snowbound and out of flour, I could still whip up a loaf of bread lickety-split.

The other advantage of this bread is that it contains resistant starch! If you recall, if you cook and cool certain starchy foods–like rice and potatoes–the starch is converted to resistant starch, which is good for us in several ways. First off, the conversion to resistant starch reduces the calories in the cooked-and-cooled food by as much as fifty percent. Second, resistant starch is a powerful prebiotic for your microbiome. It also increases insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar levels. And this effect is not diminished if the food is reheated, so bake your bread, cool it, and toast it for breakfast the next day!

Finally, this is probably the best gluten-free bread I’ve ever tasted. I was a bit skeptical, but it turned out to be crispy and delicious with a schmear of vegan butter and next level when toasted and topped with peanut butter and jam!

Blender Bread

First, rinse and soak for about an hour:

• 2 cups raw white rice (basmati is a good choice!)

Add the drained rice to the Vitamix (you can use only a high-speed blender for this recipe) and blend for about a minute until smooth:

• 1 cup cool water
• 3 TBS sunflower oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBS sugar
• 7 grams yeast

Check the temperature of the blended ingredients after a minute: you want to ensure that the batter is smooth AND achieves a temperature of about 105 degrees and no warmer. This means after the one-minute mark, you’ll need to check every 10 seconds or so.

The first time I made the rice bread, I made the mistake of letting the blender run for 2 minutes, and it registered 134 degrees! I also used too much water and the wrong kind of rice (arborio). It was not pretty.

Pour the batter into a lightly-greased loaf pan–I used my 9 x 4 x 4 Pullman pan. Smack the pan on the counter a couple of times to release air bubbles and spread evenly. Spray the top of the loaf with water, cover, and proof at 100f for 20 minutes (loaf should have doubled in size after 20 minutes). Preheat oven to 375 F.

Pour a cup of water into a roasting pan on the lowest rack of the oven; spray the loaf with water again and slide the loaf pan onto middle rack. Bake uncovered for about 40 mins at 375 degrees–the internal temperature should be about 205 to 210 degrees.

Remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Update!

I tried the recipe with brown basmati rice, and it also worked brilliantly! I think I even prefer the taste! I accidentally exhausted the yeast, so the loaf collapsed a little in the middle, but it tastes great and is amazingly crisp and delicious!

The bread is particularly delicious toasted and topped with mashed avocado and a sprinkle of Tajin, but equally delicious toasted with a schmear of peanut butter. Because I use my Pullman loaf pan, the slices are quite tiny

And the song of the day is Sunny War’s “Lucid Lucy.”